


Serena Cadenzavna Eve and the Case of the Missing Rooster

by FindingTarshish, Kotobird



Series: Serenade Resurrection AU [6]
Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: F/F, Serena has anxiety, and an emotional support rooster, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FindingTarshish/pseuds/FindingTarshish, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotobird/pseuds/Kotobird
Summary: Serena wakes up on her birthday, but Kanade is nowhere to be found!Some short fluff for Serena's birthday
Relationships: Akatsuki Kirika/Tsukuyomi Shirabe, Amou Kanade/Serena Cadenzavna Eve, Maria Cadenzavna Eve/Kazanari Tsubasa
Series: Serenade Resurrection AU [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822039
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Serena Cadenzavna Eve and the Case of the Missing Rooster

Serena groaned as the teasing rays of the dawn poked at her eyelids. She rolled over, inadvertently throwing her quilt off and leaving the cool morning air to drift over her bare body.

“Good morning,” she whispered, as she snuggled up to the other side of the bed. But instead of resting on her lover’s warm skin, her outstretched hand only felt cold empty fabric.

“Kanade?” Her eyes snapped open. “Kanade? Where are you?” Her voice echoed through the apartment, but there was no answer, and Kanade was nowhere to be seen. She rolled out of bed, wincing at the chilly autumn air. Wrapping her blanket around her, she padded over to the thermostat and turned the heat on for the first time in the year. It was that season already.

She grabbed her phone and flipped through her contacts, but as she rang Kanade’s phone, it instantly went to message. “What?” she muttered under her breath. “This isn’t like her.” A familiar stab of anxiety ran through her as her mind raced at what could have happened. Perhaps something went wrong? Was it another attack from the splinter cells that had been giving them so much trouble? Maybe she was called on a mission? No...she'd get called to that too. A nearby emergence of Noise? No, Kanade would have woken her up. 

She felt her heart rate skyrocketing as dozens of scenarios, each more horrible than the last, rushed into her head. Like a waking nightmare, every terrible thing that could happen seemed uniquely possible. Her lungs struggled to pull in a full breath of air before her diaphragm forced it out.

Breathing heavily, she rushed to the kitchen, gripping the counter so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to calm her mind, desperately recalling the CBT class she’d taken a few months earlier. Slowly, shakily, she opened the freezer and shoveled a few handfuls of ice into a bowl, wincing at the sharp _clink_ as it impacted the metal. The blanket around her shoulders shuddered off, leaving her half naked in her kitchen as she stumbled across the room to the sink. She filled the bowl, took a deep breath — as deep as she could manage — bent over and immersed her face in the ice cold water.

She started as her heart rate plummeted. As her thoughts began to clear, she remembered more of what to do— she kept her head under for another twenty seconds to complete the full half minute. With a gasp, she burst out of the water, her soaked hair sticking to her face. She slumped to the floor, mopping at her face with her blanket.

“I guess the Commander was right about those classes…” she groaned. She shook herself from the cold, and stumbled to her feet, tossing the damp blanket into the laundry on her way to her dresser. She pressed her head against the wall. “Hell of a way to start my birthday,” she muttered bitterly. Quickly selecting a warm sweater and skirt, she replaced her damp bra with a dry one and got dressed, tying back her hair in a single long ponytail.

...But maybe they didn't want to summon her because it was her birthday? ...She wasn't sure. She quickly silenced the errant thought before it could send her spiraling again. She was about to pop a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster when she spotted the tin of oats in the pantry. With a small smile, she packed up the bread, and pulled out the tin, remembering fondly the days when Professor Nastassja would treat them with raisin oatmeal because Serena has succeeded in a test or something. She unscrewed the tin, packing her bowl with brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A few minutes later, she sat at that kitchen table, happily enjoying the warm, gooey grains.

* * *

 _This is…_ Serena gulped as she stopped in the middle of the street. Wherever she looked, no matter how hard she tried not, all the orange colors bolded out from the rest of the colors. Any time she would see an orange object her thoughts would be thrown back into thinking about Kanade. She passed a clothier and saw a black and red dress in the window, and couldn’t help but think it would suit Kanade. She passed a sign for a fast food restaurant with a big red rooster in the logo, and she swore she saw Kanade’s ahoges in its feathers. Everywhere she looked, she saw something that reminded her of Kanade. She couldn’t stop thinking or worrying about her at all. 

_...too hard,_ She thought, as she kept walking, not paying attention to anything but those flashes of orange color throughout the city. She turned the street corner, her head still in the clouds.

“You.” A rather sorrowful voice suddenly called over. Serena turned her head around while still walking forward, only to bump into someone who immediately let out a startled ‘Dess!!’ 

She backed away, spooked by the sudden encounter.

“Kirika-?!” Serena yelped, watching as the blonde girl in front of her balanced herself.

“And Shirabe, dess!!” Kirika said, rubbing her head. Serena turned around to see Shirabe standing behind her, her eyes locked on hers in her trademark intimidating glare.

After a while in silence, Shirabe smiled. “Hello.”

Seeing Shirabe's smile, Serena immediately reflected it.

“It's your birthday today.” Shirabe continued, her stare pinning Serena to the wall at this point.

“It...It is.” Serena nodded, confused at the presence of Shirabe's menacing stare.

“And that means you're coming with us, dess!!” Kirika suddenly slid her arms under one of Serena's, and Shirabe immediately joined to grab onto the other.

“W-Wait! What's going on?!” Serena whined, confused and uncertain why would the two of them drag her anywhere. Her head was way too occupied to think of a reason. She simply let the two drag her.

* * *

“W-wait, so where are we going?” Serena whined once again, still being dragged by the Zababa duo to a place unknown to her. An undessclosed location, if you will.

 _“Wait. Maybe they're leading me to Kanade?!”_ Her heartbeat increased at the thought of finally seeing her partner for the first time since she woke up.

The two brought her into a café. She looked around, hoping to spot a certain red-headed rooster. Unfortunately, Kanade was nowhere to be seen.

“Serena!” A familiar voice called from afar. She was so absorbed with looking for Kanade that before she even realized who had called to her, she was already wrapped in her sister’s arms.

“Sis!” She gasped, surprised and partially disappointed at herself she couldn't recognize even her own sister's voice.

“You look really out of it,” Maria frowned slightly, holding onto her sister's shoulders and looking at her with big, concerned eyes. “What's wrong?”

Serena opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it. She looked down and sighed. “...Kanade wasn't there when I woke up… and I don't know where she is.”

Maria blinked for a few seconds. Kanade wasn't with Serena when she woke up? She was sure she was. Her expression hardened for a second; What was Kanade thinking, not even being there to wake up her girlfriend on her special day? Maria pushed those thoughts aside as she pulled Serena back into an embrace and patted her back. “I'm sure she's just preparing something big for you. Don't worry about it, okay? Look, I ordered your favorite foods. Let's sit down.”

“We actually have to go, Chris-senpai needs our help, dess!” Kirika smiled, nodding her head quickly. Shirabe joined her as well.

“Yes. We’re terribly sorry.” Shirabe added, and the two left the sisters to sit by themselves.

Maria sat across from Serena, watching as she stared at the table with a distant gaze. She didn’t know what to say. Of course she knew what was up with Kanade… but she couldn’t just ruin it for her. But seeing just how worried her sister was about her… and just how much it disturbed her to not know where she was… it was hurting her.

“Uhm…so…”

No answer. Serena kept staring at the table, until a plate of pudding was placed before her. She immediately looked up, blinking rapidly. “Huh?”

“Still the only way to snap you out of something, huh.” Maria smiled, sighing as she shook her head.

“Wait, where did Kirika and Shirabe go?” Serena said, confusedly looking around for the Zababa duo. She looked back at Maria with a worried expression, silently searching for an answer in Maria’s turquoise irises.

“They had to leave. You didn’t pay attention to that?”

“O-oh. I’m really sorry, just…”

“I know. But trust me, she’s fine. C’mon, she's probably planning something big. I told you.”

“...Maybe.” Serena sighed, as her eyes slowly drifted towards the delicious looking pudding in front of her. “Um…”

“Eat up, I’m sure it’ll ease your worries for a bit.” Maria nestled her chin in her palm, watching as Serena dug into her favorite food enthusiastically.

After finishing her pudding, Serena seemed calmer.

“So…”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about it. She must've told you what she's doing, didn't she?”

“Well—” Maria stopped to think for a moment. “Kind of.”

“...Kind of.”

“Mhm.”

Maria looked away, rubbing her cheek. “A-All I can say is that Kanade is fine! So don’t worry about her…”

“Oh, now I’m sure she’s fine knowing you know exactly what she’s doing.” Serena crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back on her chair and raising an eyebrow. She expected Maria would break eventually. Even when they were children, Maria could never deny her anything.

“I-I can’t tell you that! It’s just—” Maria tried to excuse, but as if it was a complete miracle, the door to the cafe opened, revealing a certain bluenette, a frantic expression on her face.

“Tsubasa?!” Maria exclaimed, standing up. 

Tsubasa walked over quickly, right into Maria’s embrace. 

“What’s wrong, Tsubasa? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Horrible.” Tsubasa mumbled, wrapping her arms around Maria and pushing her face into her chest. “I’ve seen horrible things.”

“Tsubasa—” Maria whispered, poking her girlfriend’s head. “We’re in a cafe.”

Tsubasa grumbled, letting go of Maria and finally noticing Serena was looking right into her eyes.

“Hello.” Serena said with a smile, yet Tsubasa swore she could feel her gaze boring through her.

“Ah! I-I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you!” Tsubasa immediately turned to her, bowing in apology. “Happy birthday!” She said rushingly, before her shoulder was gripped and she nearly panicked.

“Jeez...Tsubasa.” Maria sighed, “It’s fine. Come here.” She tapped her shoulder again, as Tsubasa straightened her back up and looked at her partner. Maria squeezed her cheeks and pulled her into a quick kiss, instantly earning a bright smile on Tsubasa’s face.

“Okay...I’m calm.” Tsubasa let out a relieved sigh.

“Wow, you two sure are bold.” Serena smirked, shaking her head as the two tried to hide their obvious embarrassment.

“S-sorry.” Maria looked away sheepishly, now sitting back down along with Tsubasa beside her.

“So. What’s this horrible thing you’ve witnessed, Tsubasa?” Serena pursued, now leaning her body closer to Tsubasa. She knew well that if something shook Tsubasa _this_ hard, it must’ve been Kanade.

“Oh, uh—”

“Hey, Tsubasa, why don’t you order something? It’s on me this time.” Maria said with a wide smile.

Completely oblivious to the situation, Tsubasa nodded sheepishly. “Oh, well if that's okay with you…”

“Wait, no—” Serena frowned, leaning even closer. “You need to tell me what it was!”

“She does not!” Maria frowned back, crossing her arms. “If she’s so shocked she should eat something and relax, Serena!”

Tsubasa let out a small squeak, with one menacing Eve sister on each side. “I think I’ll leave you two to your lunch!” she squealed, quickly hurrying out of the cafe.

Serena pursed her lips. “Why’d you have to scare her off? I was so close to getting her to talk!”

“No! …It won't have the element of surprise…” Maria mumbled, looking away.

“...Fine.” Serena sighed. “I suppose I’ll wait…” A mischievous smile crossed her face. “You and Tusbasa-san seem to be getting along rather well.” She was immediately treated to her sister’s hilarious blushing face.

“I-buh-oh hush, you!” she stammered, looking away with a furious pout.

Serena laughed her melodic laugh. “You two were dancing around each other for way too long. Ogawa-san told me about how you followed her to London a couple of years ago?”

“That devil—!” she exclaimed. “That was NOT what happened.” Her blush told a different story.

“Uh huh,” Serena said. “I also happen to have been told you started filing down your nails after—”

“Stop right there!” Maria babbled. “That’s not true!”

“You know, even some of your fans noti—”

“Stop it!” Maria whined, hiding her head in her hands. “I know I’m gay, stop teasing me about it!”

Serena patted her head. “I know. We all are.”

Maria took her hands away, her pout still present. “Someday I’m going to get you back for all this teasing.”

“Someday,” Serena said, folding her fingers together. “But not today!”

"So what do you want to talk about?" Serena asked.

Maria opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. "I don't know," she said sadly.

Serena leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I suppose none of us really learned any social skills, eh? You'd think Tsubasa would be the most well adapted, but we all know she's pretty much useless without you."

"Hey!" Maria said. "Don't be mean!"

"Sorry," she giggled.

"Besides, it's not like yours is any better!" Maria shot back.

"Oh god, don't remind me," Serena groaned. "Did I ever tell you about what she did in that diplomatic mission in France?"

"The one where you guys were representing S.O.N.G. and trying to get France's H-tech division back on board?" Maria asked. "This was during the time they were mad at us after the Yggdrasil Incident, right?"

"Yeah, that one," Serena said. "So right as we got to France, we got rushed off to a dinner at the presidential palace---"

"You guys got to have dinner at the presidential palace?!" Maria exclaimed.

Serena grinned. "I got Kanade to wear a nice dress for it. You should have seen her. Anyway, we were at dinner, and Kanade was making small talk with the British ambassador and the bureaucrat in charge of France's heretical technology division, and one of the french attache's recommended that she try the fish."

Maria tilted her head. "I don't get it."

"Well, they were speaking English, but the attache blanked on the english word for fish --- maybe his nerves got to him --- so he said it in French, which is---"

"Poisson," they said together. "Oh no," Maria groaned.

"And Kanade stopped laughing and got really quiet. She was _really_ spooked, and refused to eat anything until I explained that nobody was trying to poison her." She laughed. "It was so silly, she kept darting her eyes back and forth."

Maria kneaded her eyebrow. "How on any level did you two pull off that mission with her being that much of an idiot?"

"Hey!" Serena said, repeating her sister's words. "Don't be mean!"

Maria's mouth fell open in a small 'o'. "Fair enough, I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm joking," Serena said, "She's absolutely an idiot. But she's my idiot. Anyway, the French minister of heretical technology was so charmed by Kanade's antics that he reopened discussions with S.O.N.G."

"Really?" Maria said. " _Really?_ It was _Kanade_ that got them to rejoin S.O.N.G.?"

"Well, to be fair, most of the negotiations afterwards were all me, but yeah, Kanade was the catalyst. It helped them get the idea that we were actually human beings protecting the world, not gods killing gods."

“I guess we do kind of look that way from the outside,” Maria said. “And it’s not like we can really explain things from our perspective without giving away our identities.” Suddenly, her phone went off. She stared at it for a second, a look of annoyance and dread on her face. “It’s my agent,” she said. “I’m sorry, Serena…”

“No, no, it’s alright!” Serena said. “Thanks for this,” she said, gesturing at their unfinished lunch.

Maria nodded and mouthed another “sorry” to her as she took the call. After a minute, she wrote a note on a napkin _“I have to go. Sorry.”_

Serena shocked her head. “It’s okay,” she mouthed. She grabbed her coat and scarf. “See you later?”

Maria nodded, as Serena stepped out the door and headed home.

* * *

Serena leaned back in her chair, nursing a cup of hot chocolate. All that searching, fruitless. The day had gone by, and not a single sign of Kanade. She sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing to do but wait,” she said, stretching out and propping her legs up on the ottoman.

She started as a rattling at the door broke her reverie. She watched as the doorknob turned, and the door swung open to reveal a slumped sullen figure. In walked Kanade, her wild red hair stuck together by blobs of white gel. An amber fluid dripped down the top of her head.

“Kanade?!” Serena yelped. “What hap— Is that PUDDING?!”

Kanade just hung her head dejectedly with a heavy sigh as her shoulders sank down, her wild hair doused in dessert. “It didn’t work.”

**Author's Note:**

> CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It’s a series of methods and techniques used to improve mental health, and Serena would know these techniques because in this AU, she has some anxiety and PTSD, as seen in the 2nd fic in the series, where she had a full on panic attack in the middle of a mission. The technique she used does actually work, so don’t say you never learned anything from fanfics! (I am aware CBT means something else. It’s not that here, ya horny idiots.)
> 
> If you’re wondering what didn’t work: https://twitter.com/FindingTarshish/status/1317117681783496704


End file.
